![]() |
Iain Coucher | |
---|---|
Born | St Albans, Hertfordshire | 22 August 1961
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Chairman of Ofwat |
Known for | Chief executive of Atomic Weapons Establishment Chief executive of Network Rail (2007–2010) |
Iain Michael Coucher (born 22 August 1961) is the chairman of Ofwat, and was formerly the Chief Executive of the Atomic Weapons Establishment. He has worked as a consultant in the railway industry and held a number of management posts, most notably serving as the Chief Executive of Network Rail from 2007 to 2010.
Coucher was born on 22 August 1961 in St Albans, Hertfordshire. He was brought up in Doncaster and Leeds, where his father, Brian, worked for the electricity generating board. He originally wanted to be a pilot in the Royal Air Force.
He was educated at Ashville College, a private boarding school in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. He boarded in Windermere House – part of Mallinson. Coucher was a good tennis player and represented the school tennis team.
After leaving Ashville in 1979, he attended Imperial College London where he studied Aeronautical engineering. He graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science (BSc). [1] [2] Later he completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Henley Management College (now called Henley Business School and part of the University of Reading).
He started his working life as an air-to-ground missile designer for Hunting Engineering from 1982 (since 2001 known as INSYS), before moving into IT services with the American consultancy group EDS [3] in 1985 which led to working on the Oyster card. In 1999 he formed a transport consultancy, Coucher Pender, in partnership with a colleague Victoria Pender. Through the consultancy, they provided freelance management services to Tube Lines, one of the infrastructure maintenance companies under the London Underground public-private partnership in which the company was responsible for modernizing three tube lines, with Coucher serving as Tube Lines' Chief Executive from 1999 to 2001. [4]
Coucher Pender provided consultancy for the creation of the railway infrastructure company Network Rail following the collapse of Railtrack in 2002. Coucher was made Deputy Chief Executive of Network Rail in 2002, stepping up to the role of Chief Executive in July 2007 following the retirement of Chief Executive John Armitt. In 2009, Network Rail paid Coucher an annual salary of £613,000. [5]
Coucher announced on 17 June 2010 that he would step down as Chief Executive of Network Rail stating that this was for personal reasons. He remained in situ while his successor was sought. Coucher officially left Network Rail on 29 October 2010, accepting a payment from the company of £1.6 million.[ citation needed ] Coucher's successor, David Higgins, started on 1 February 2011. [6]
Coucher was the subject of controversy regarding his management techniques following allegations in the media by the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association about bullying of Network Rail staff and financial impropriety involving Victoria Pender. An internal examination in 2010 by Network Rail cleared Coucher of any wrongdoing. An independent enquiry headed by Anthony White QC in 2011 further examined the claims, but also exonerated Coucher. [7] [8] [9]
In January 2016, Coucher became Chief Executive of Atomic Weapons Establishment. In May 2022 he was appointed chairman of Ofwat. [10]
Married with a son (born February 1995) and daughter (born June 1998), Coucher lives in Argyll & Bute, Scotland and lists his car as an Aston Martin DB9. He married Tanya Nightingale in July 1993 in North Yorkshire. He was previously married. He enjoys cycling and birdwatching and owns a country house and 173-acre estate by Loch Sween on the Sound of Jura in Scotland which he has named "Iainland". [11]
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies, and was privatised in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board.
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from 1994 until 2002. It was created as part of the privatisation of British Rail, listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 2002, after experiencing major financial difficulty, most of Railtrack's operations were transferred to the state-controlled non-profit company Network Rail. The remainder of Railtrack was renamed RT Group plc and eventually dissolved on 22 June 2010.
Network Rail Limited is the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's length" public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, which reinvests its income in the railways.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railways into four. The companies merged into the LMS included the London and North Western Railway, the Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, several Scottish railway companies, and numerous other, smaller ventures.
The Water Services Regulation Authority, or Ofwat, is the body responsible for economic regulation of the privatised water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. Ofwat's main statutory duties include protecting the interests of consumers, securing the long-term resilience of water supply and wastewater systems, and ensuring that companies carry out their functions and are able to finance them.
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, which is based in Aberdeen in the north-east of Scotland. The company operates transport services in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) is the Italian railway infrastructure manager, subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), a state-owned holding company. RFI is the owner of Italy's railway network, it provides signalling, maintenance and other services for the railway network. It also operates train ferries between the Italian Peninsula and Sicily.
The Mott MacDonald Group is a management, engineering and development consultancy headquartered in the United Kingdom. It employs +18,000 staff in 150 countries. Mott MacDonald is one of the largest employee-owned companies in the world.
RITES Ltd, formerly known as Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited a Miniratna (Category-I) Schedule 'A' Central Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, incorporated on April 26, 1974 is a multidisciplinary engineering and consultancy organization, providing a comprehensive range of services from concept to commissioning in all facets of transport infrastructure and related technologies.
Ircon International, or Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON), is an Indian engineering & construction corporation, specialized in transport infrastructure. The public sector undertaking was established in 1976, by the Indian Railways under the Indian Companies Act 1956. IRCON was registered as the Indian Railway Construction International Limited, a wholly owned entity of the Indian Railways. Its primary charter was the construction of railway projects in India and abroad. Ircon has since diversified into other transport and infrastructure segments and with its expanded scope of operations around the world, the name was changed to Indian Railway International Ltd. in October 1995.
Eurostar International Limited (EIL) is the railway company operating the international Eurostar train services between London, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels via the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar was previously operated by three separate companies in Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, but this structure was replaced by EIL as a new single management company on 1 September 2010. EIL is owned by Eurostar Group.
Apperley Bridge station is situated in Bradford on the line between Leeds and Shipley, West Yorkshire, England. It serves the district of Apperley Bridge in the north-east of the city.
Atkins is a Canadian-British multinational engineering, design, planning, architectural design, project management and consulting services company. It is a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin and is headquartered in London.
Don Valley Railway first formed as a heritage rail project in September 2003 to operate on the freight rail line between Stocksbridge Steel Works and Sheffield following the route of the former Woodhead Line between Deepcar and Sheffield, The project is developed by Don Valley Railway Ltd., a not-for-profit company and registered charity based in Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire. Original plans to operate heritage rail services for the dual purpose of providing infrastructure for tourism over the weekends, alongside regular commuter services have now shifted towards concentrating on the development of a viable commuter service - though with help of outside assistance heritage plans could be revised.
The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is a British independent company limited by guarantee. Interested parties include various rail industry organisations, including Network Rail, train operating companies (TOCs), and rolling stock companies (ROSCOs). The RSSB operates as a not-for-profit entity, its primary purpose being to bring about improved health and safety performance throughout Britain's railway network.
Jarvis plc was a British company that specialised in construction and civil engineering, with a focus on support services to the British railway industry during its latter years of operations.
Sir David Hartmann Higgins is an Australian-British businessman, the Chairman of United Utilities Group, Chairman of Gatwick Airport, and the former Non-Executive Chairman of High Speed Two (HS2). He was Chief Executive of the London 2012 Summer Olympics Delivery Authority and Network Rail.
Amey plc, previously known as Amey Ltd and Amey Roadstone Construction, is a United Kingdom-based infrastructure support service provider.
Mark Carne is a British businessman who served as executive vice-president for Shell in the Middle East and North Africa and was chief executive of Network Rail.
Bane NOR SF, formerly Jernbaneinfrastrukturforetaket, is the Norwegian government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the track, stations, and the majority of other infrastructure assets.